151. Editorial Note
General Lon Nol, Minister of Defense and Chief of Staff of the Cambodian Armed Forces, was in Washington as a guest of the Department of Defense, October 31–November 3. On October 31 and November 1, Lon Nol had conversations with officials at the Department of Defense and the International Cooperation Administration. Those discussions were summarized in a memorandum from Robert G. Cleveland to Deputy Assistant Secretary of State John M. Steeves, November 1, as follows:
“The General and his party have already held discussions with Defense and ICA officials on the Cambodian proposals for a major, long-term increase in US military and police aid. These demands originally called for aid estimated at about $120,000,000 over a period of several years; they were scaled down by the Country Team to about $41,000,000 over a five-year period. As you know, we are currently trying to formulate a minimum package response which would meet the political need for preventing Cambodian acceptance of bloc military aid.
“We understand that in Defense, Lon Nol insisted firmly that Cambodian demands were fully justified on the basis of Cambodia’s needs and he repeatedly requested a response by the US. He appeared not to be moved by indications of the difficulty we are having in justifying an increase of this magnitude in our military aid program. Mr. Irwin reportedly said that we would attempt to have some response for the General before he departs for France to see Prince Sihanouk in about two weeks.
“Similarly at ICA, Lon Nol pressed for a prompt indication of the US response to the Cambodian request for increased police aid.” (Department of State, FE/SEA (Cambodia) Files: Lot 63 D 73; Visits & Tours of Cambodian VIPs)
Lon Nol met briefly with Secretary of State Herter on November 2, and exchanged courtesies. Lon Nol then had a substantive meeting at the Department of State with Steeves, Brigadier General Charles H. Chase, Cleveland, and other officials from the Departments of State and Defense. At this meeting, Lon Nol asked for a definitive reply to Cambodian proposals for foreign aid, to which Steeves promised as complete an answer as possible before Lon Nol left the United States later in mid-November. (Memorandum of conversation, November 2; ibid., Central Files, 751H.5–MSP/11–260; included in the microfiche supplement)
On the afternoon of November 3, Lon Nol met with Joseph V. Charyk, Under Secretary of the Air Force, and made two “emphatic requests”: that the United States train eight Cambodian jet pilots and provide the Cambodia Air Force with two jet aircraft which those pilots could fly on the occasion of the celebration of Cambodian independence [Page 392] next summer. Charyk informed Secretary of Defense Thomas S. Gates, Jr., that the Air Force would have no problem complying with these requests and urged a decision. (Memorandum from Charyk to Gates, November 4; Washington National Records Center, RG 330, OSD/ISA Files: FRC 64 A 2170, 253 Cambodia; included in the microfiche supplement)